12 replies to this topic

[Turbo5]

So i went over to my cousins house this morning for my regular oil change. 1st thng i wanna say is, my oil filter cap was on so tight, that we couldnt get the Darn thing off, so i couldnt install my new filter. My cousin didnt have the particular tools to fit and take off the cap, so we left it as is. My last oil change was in may, this time i went to a garage that specialises in volvos, since my cousin was in mexico. What i think is, they tightened the cap so hard that it would require specialised tools to open it, tools that few people have in their house, so it would assure them that i would be coming back to change my oil with them. Now i dont even know if my filter has been replaced from them, cuz i didnt request that, and they didnt mention it, even though it ended up costing 100$ to change the oil (synthetic+ 54$/hour). So i just hope the filter was changed and my car will be ok. Do you guys think that they did this for the reason i stated?

**2nd thing and most impotant, my cousin, who has always been telling me to put regular oil rather than synthetic, told me once again that the castrol 5W-50 that i brought was recycled garbage. This guy even puts regular oil in his 5.0. He said that castrol synthetic, and most synthetics for that matter, are all recycled and they are rotten. To prove his point he filled 6 small capsules with 6 different oils he has in stock in his garage. I cannot rememeber all of them, but there was 4 regular oils (valvoline, penzoil and 2 otheres i cant remember), 1 totally scrapped recycled oil he had in a container, and my Castrol syntec 5W-50. To my amazement, the 4 regular oils were considerably clearer and cleaner than my Synthetic. The 5W-50 was identical to the scrap oil.

Is color the main factor in oil quality or, as i suggested to him after the experiment, there are other factors involved in determining if an oil is quality?

Edited by Turbo5, 03 October 2006 - 06:24 PM.

[Turbo5]

Air filter cap? Do you mean the top of the air box?

Sorry i mean oil filter cap, fixed...

Edited by Turbo5, 03 October 2006 - 06:25 PM.

[Fisher]

You can buy a cap wrench for your filter from IPD among other places.

Color means absolutely nothing with oil. Use nothing but synthetic in your turbo. Especially in Canada. I would use the Esso XD-3 0W-30 you can find at your local Canadian Tire. If you like Castrol, they make a 0W-30 you can use too. Last I saw it had a red label, and is made in Germany. The yellow lableled US version is not as good but would prolly still work. You can Google "German Castrol" for more information. Mobil 1 0W-40 is also a good oil to use. It is a very low 40 weight, really a high 30 weight. Other than these, a 5W-30 synthetic would work. I would not use a 10W-30 for the Canadian winter, only in summer.

Edited by Fisher, 03 October 2006 - 11:07 PM.

[Turbo5]

The volvo specialist put 5W 50 for me so i dont know

[Turbo5]

Your cousin knows squat. You are using the wrong type oil. And the plastic filter cannisters are meant to be taken off with a specific cannister holder that you can get on ebay or the dealer easily.
Use only 5/30 through 10/30 oil. Read the owners manual. Use only synthetic, ignore your cousin. And don't let the oil go over 5000 miles with synthetic.

But now that i just put 5w50, my car will; still be ok, it will still run perfectly right

[ArmyINFDoc]

i use 15w-40 w/ no problems

[WhiteT5]

The Castrol Syntec 5w-50 is a pretty good oil. Mobil 1 0w-40, not so much. I've seen these cars shear the stuff to a 20 wt. Motul 5w-40, Elf 5w-40 are good. The GC (German Castrol Syntec 0w-30) would be excellent for those Quebec winters I'm sure. In the summer I'd stick w/ a 5w-40.

[Fisher]

i use 15w-40 w/ no problems

Year round? Do you use a block heater in winter?

...The Castrol Syntec 5w-50 is a pretty good oil. Mobil 1 0w-40, not so much. I've seen these cars shear the stuff to a 20 wt. Motul 5w-40, Elf 5w-40 are good. The GC (German Castrol Syntec 0w-30) would be excellent for those Quebec winters I'm sure. In the summer I'd stick w/ a 5w-40.

I agree these are good oils. I can believe the Mobil sheared to a 30 weight, but not a 20 weight. It practically starts at 30 weight anyway. Why would you need a 40 weight in a Canada summer? The Esso and the GC are both high 30 weights and can be run year round unless you have consumption issues.

Edited by Fisher, 04 October 2006 - 09:54 PM.

[maiku]

your friend is stupid

but he's right about most "synthetics" not being fully synthetic at all
but it doesn't make a difference in our engines since we don't heat up the oil to anything beyond "semi-synthetic" levels (most of us)

i use mobil1 10W30
no problems
no leaks
change every 3500 miles
and i'm in canada


oh, don't drive in winter, so cold weather no problem

[Fisher]

But now that i just put 5w50, my car will; still be ok, it will still run perfectly right

It should not hurt the engine. You just may not get the best gas mileage.

[TheMan5952]

I use Redline 10w-30 here in Vegas. I ran the same stuff on my GLT with 200K on it. Synthetic looks different because it's not made from fossils, it's made in a lab.

Your fine to run Synthetic in your car.